Vedanta sole bidder for Videocon’s 25% in Ravva oil block

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta is the sole bidder for Videocon’s 25 per cent stake in the Ravva oil and gas field located in the shallow offshore area of the Krishna-godavari basin on the eastern coast of India.

Videocon is undergoing insolvency proceedings at the NCLT with a separate bidding process being undertaken for the Ravva block. Vedanta, through its Cairn Oil & Gas vertical, holds 22.5 per cent in the field. The other partners are ONGC with 40 per cent stake and Ravva Oil with 12.5 per cent stake.

Videocon Industries, which is among the RBI’S list of 40 largest defaulters, had a debt of ~19,506 crore as of last year. A source said, including interest, the dues to banks now stand close to ~30,000 crore.

At least 11 firms, including a Vedanta affiliate and Us-based Eight Capital, have reportedly shown interest in Videocon Industries. “For the Ravva block, only Vedanta is the bidder. The court’s direction was to resolve it on a consolidated basis. By October 15, shortlisting of bidders may take place and may be able to wind up proceedings of both the firm and asset by December,” said a source.

The average output from the Ravva block in FY20 was 14,232 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), and it increased to 22,037 boepd in the first quarter of FY21.